Power tool support



March 1, 1949. HABENICHT 2,463,266

POWER TOOL SUPPORT Filed Jan. 31, 1946 Patented Mar. 1, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE POWER TOOL SUPPORT August F. Habenicht, Tinley Park, Ill.

Application January 31, 1946, Serial No. 644,496

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a power tool support and more particularly to a support for an electric drill and the like.

In the operation of electric drills, there is considerable danger when the drill point or bit passes through the beam or other object through which the hole is being formed and particularly at the precise instant when the drill passes through the last bit of metal. At this instant, when the metal resistance is uneven and the drill clears the metal object, there is a lateral swing involuntarily caused by the operator which very often breaks the drill bit and sometimes injures the operator. Not only is there a loss of an expensive part at this moment, but also very often the work is delayed because of the need for the replacement bit.

An object of the invention is to provide means for supporting the electric drill or power tool in such a manner that when the drill passes through the metal, the drill itself remains suspended and does not swing laterally so as to break the bit. A further object is to provide means for suspending an electric drill or power tool above the work while at the same time permitting the con venient use of the adjusting mechanism for moving the drill toward or away from the work. Yet another object is to provide a supporting structure which eliminates the heavy bases hereto fore employed and permits the support structure to be clamped directly to the object to which the drill is directed. Other specific objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds.

The invention is illustrated, in a preferred embodiment, by the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view in elevation of the apparatus embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a broken side view in elevation on an enlarged scale of the supporting bracket employed, a portion of the bracket being shown in section; Fig. 3, a perspective view of the supporting bracket shown in Fig. 2 after separation from the supporting beam; Fig. 4, a top plan View of the base employed; and Fig. 5, a perspective view of the support apparatus shown in a horizontal position.

In the illustration given, Ill designates a base structure which is formed of two U-shaped members II. The U-shaped members II are arranged, as shown in Fig. 1, back to back and are connected at their outer side by a metal strap l2 welded to the members ll. At their inner sides, the members II are secured to a tubular member l3 by welding or other suitable means. The top flange of each of the members II is cut away at M to provide a space in the central portion of the base I0. Between the two members I! is a longitudinal space l5 through which the drill may extend in the drilling operation.

A mast or standard 56 is supported within the tubular sleeve l3 and extends at a distance above the base l6. Near its top, the mast I5 is provided with a sleeve I! through which extend set screws 58 for fixing the sleeve or collar IT in position. A beam 19 is formed integrally with the collar I! or welded thereto and it extends in a direction substantially parallel with the base member Ill.

The electric drill 26 is of old and Well-known construction and is described herein as illustrative of a power device with which the new support structure is applicable. The drill member 20 is provided with a drill or bit 2! and the opera tion of the drill is accomplished by means of a motor enclosed within the casings and controlled by hand trigger 22. Since the drill device is old and not claimed herein, it is believed that a detailed description is unnecessary. It will be understood that the invention is applicable to other forms of power tools used for drilling or other operations.

The electric drill device 26 is shown provided at its upper end with a boss 23 which is internally threaded to receive an adjustment screw 24. The adjustment screw 2 3' is mounted upon a shaft 25 and a handle device 26 is fixed to the shaft. The upper end 21 of the shaft 25 is substantially conical in shape. The shaft 25 is also provided with a laterally extending head or flange 28, as shown more clearly in Fig. 2.

Releasably mounted upon the beam 19 is a bracket structure 29 as shown more clearly in Fig. 3. The bracket structure 29 comprises a metal plate 30 adapted to rest upon the beam l9 and with spaced depending legs 3|. The legs 3|, at their lower ends, are welded to a circular bearig member 32 having a conical recess 33 therein adapted to receive the cone 211 of shaft 25. The member 32 is also provided with a large recess 34 adapted to receive the flange or head 28 of the member 25. Extending through one end of the plate 36 is a bolt member 36 which pivotally engages a large plate 36, as shown in Fig. 3. The plate 36 is provided at one end with a slot 31 adapted to receive another bolt 33 equipped at its bottom with a head 46. The upper end of the bolt 38 is threaded and extends through a threaded boss 39. Preferably, the top of bolt 38 is :provided with a wing nut 40. It will be noted that the rods and 38 extend through opposite sides of the top plate 30 and thus provide between them a space through which the beam l9 may extend, as shown more clearly in Figs. 1 and 2.

Any suitable means may be employed for securing the base IE to an object through which the hole is to be formed by the drill or upon which some other operation is to take place. In the illustration given in Fig. 5, a C-clamp M is illustrated as a suitable device for securing the base it] against the I-beam 42.

Operation In the operation of the device, the base member It is secured to the work as, for example, to a beam, by means of C-clamps or other clamping means with the electric drill 20 supported upon the beam IS in the vertical position illustrated in Fig. 1. For suspending the drill 20, the conical end 2? is brought upwardly within the recess 33 of the member 32 and the latch plate 36 is swung to a position below the flange 28, as illustrated best in Fig. 2. In this operation, the curved slot 3-5 receives the shaft 25 just below the head 28 and the slot 3'! engages the lower end of the bolt 38. Preferably, the latch plate 36 is provided with a slight recess l t to receive a portion of the head 26 and thus anchor the head 28 within the plate 36. Bolt 38 is then rotated so as to bring the head 28 snugly within the recess 34, of the member 32. By the means just described, the electric drill 29 is suspended from the cross beam HQ with the drill point in alignment with the space l of base m.

A set screw 43 may be employed for engaging the top of beam 99 to secure the supporting bracket member firmly thereon.

To advance the drill toward the work, the handle 25 may be rotated until the drill bit engages the work upon which the base 19 rests. The motor may then be set in operation to form the hole within the work. As the drill passes through the work, there is no tendency for the drill to be swung laterally to break the drill and there is no danger to the operator as occurs when the drill is not supported and when the drill point suddenly passes through the object. In contrast with the old practice where the operator held the drill and could not help producing a lateral swing when the point passed through the material, the suspension of the electric drill upon the support herein provided maintains the drill point in true alignment with the opening and prevents any sidewise lunge oi the drill or hit. At the same time, by reason of the suspension described, an operator is able to more accurately carry through the drilling operation and is not rendered tense by reason of the expected jerk at the end of the drilling step.

The drilling may be readily accomplished, not only in the vertical position illustrated in Fig. l, but also in the horizontal position illustrated in Fig. 5. As shown in'Fig. '5, the base 80 is clamped against the Web of the I-beam .42 and the drill is passed through the opening and the web of the beam.

The novel support structure described is also highly useful as a means for carrying the drill device when the same is being transported. For example, the drill may be lowered so as to 4 bring the bit 2| within either of the apertures provided in the upper flanges of the members I I. For example, the drill device may be swung to the position shown in Fig. 5 Where it is easily carried and, if desired, the bit 2! may be brought within the aperture id of either of the members H so. as to lock the drill against sidewise movement.

With the structure described, it will be noted that the work itself is made the actual base for the support, thus greatly simplifying the apparatus which is to be moved. For example, the bracket base it! is secured to the I-beam or other heavy object by means of C-clamps or the like and the I-beam is actually the base for the supporting structure.

With the structure described, the electric drill 20 may be readily removed from the bracket 29 for use in other places or it may be readily secured in position within the bracket. When once secured within the bracket the drill may be dropped or raised so that the bit 2i passes through the open space l5 toward or'away from Te work. The support bracket is simple and compact and may be readily attached to or removed from the beam I 9.

While in the foregoing specification, I have shown one embodiment in which the invention may be employed in considerable detail, it will be understood that such details may be varied widely by those skilled in the art Without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

In a supporting structure for an electric drill equipped at its top with a head member, a standard, a rail carried by said standard and extending laterally therefrom, a bracket carried by said rail in slidable relation and provided with a recess adapted to rotatably receive the head member, pivotally mounted means carried by said bracket for supporting the head of said electric drill when in one position and for releasing said head when in another pivotal position, a base member having walls spaced apart vertically, the tops and bottoms of said walls being extended laterally to provide flanges, and a tubular member supported by said walls at one end thereof and fixed to said standard, the space between said walls being aligned in a common vertical plane with the rail carried by said standard.

AUGUST F. HABENICHT.

REFERENCES 7 cree The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 284,967 Laubach Sept. 11, 1883 1,023,921 B'raun Apr. 23, 1912 1,101,966 Schoenky June 30, 1914 1,168,143 Alcorn et al Jan. 11, 1916 1,245,360 Lutz Nov. 6, 1 91:? 1,926,788 Park et al. Sept. 12, 1933 2,309,777 Kowalske Feb. 2, 194 3 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 518,297 Great Britain Feb. .22. 1940 

